Two students comfort each other near Jonathan Law High School, in Milford, Conn. April 25, 2014, where Maren Sanchez was stabbed to death by a fellow student.

Photo: Ned Gerard

Two students comfort each other near Jonathan Law High School, in...

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Students talk to a police officer near Jonathan Law High School, in Milford, Conn. April 25, 2014, where Maren Sanchez was stabbed to death by a fellow student.

Photo: Ned Gerard

Students talk to a police officer near Jonathan Law High School, in...

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A police officer stands guard in front of Jonathan Law High School, in Milford, Conn. April 25, 2014, where Maren Sanchez was stabbed to death by a fellow student.

Photo: Ned Gerard

A police officer stands guard in front of Jonathan Law High School,...

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Milford Police Chief Keith Mello speaks at a press conference near Jonathan Law High School, in Milford, Conn. April 25, 2014, where Maren Sanchez was stabbed to death by a fellow student.

Photo: Ned Gerard

Milford Police Chief Keith Mello speaks at a press conference near...

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Milford Supt. Of Schools Elizabeth Feser speaks at a press conference near Jonathan Law High School, in Milford, Conn. April 25, 2014, where Maren Sanchez was stabbed to death by a fellow student.

Photo: Ned Gerard

Milford Supt. Of Schools Elizabeth Feser speaks at a press...

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Students walk home from Jonathan Law High School, in Milford, Conn. April 25, 2014, where Maren Sanchez was stabbed to death by a fellow student.

Photo: Ned Gerard

Students walk home from Jonathan Law High School, in Milford, Conn....

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Jonathan Law High School, in Milford, Conn. April 25, 2014, where Maren Sanchez was stabbed to death by a fellow student.

Photo: Ned Gerard

Jonathan Law High School, in Milford, Conn. April 25, 2014, where...

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Jonathan Law High School, in Milford, Conn. April 25, 2014, where Maren Sanchez was stabbed to death by a fellow student.

Photo: Ned Gerard

Jonathan Law High School, in Milford, Conn. April 25, 2014, where...

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Jonathan Law High School, in Milford, Conn. April 25, 2014, where Maren Sanchez was stabbed to death by a fellow student.

Photo: Ned Gerard

Jonathan Law High School, in Milford, Conn. April 25, 2014, where...

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Jonathan Law High School, in Milford, Conn. April 25, 2014, where Maren Sanchez was stabbed to death by a fellow student.

Photo: Ned Gerard

Jonathan Law High School, in Milford, Conn. April 25, 2014, where...

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Jonathan Law High School, in Milford, Conn. April 25, 2014, where Maren Sanchez was stabbed to death by a fellow student.

Photo: Ned Gerard

Jonathan Law High School, in Milford, Conn. April 25, 2014, where...

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Jonathan Law High School, in Milford, Conn. April 25, 2014, where Maren Sanchez was stabbed to death by a fellow student.

Photo: Ned Gerard

Jonathan Law High School, in Milford, Conn. April 25, 2014, where...

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Milford Police Chief Keith Mello speaks at a press conference near Jonathan Law High School, in Milford, Conn. April 25, 2014, where Maren Sanchez was stabbed to death by a fellow student.

Photo: Ned Gerard

Milford Police Chief Keith Mello speaks at a press conference near...

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Maren Sanchez from the Jonathan Law High School 2013 yearbook. Sanchez was stabbed to death by a fellow student April 25, 2014.

Photo: Contributed Photo

Maren Sanchez from the Jonathan Law High School 2013 yearbook....

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Ben Buczer, left, a senior from Jonathan Law High School, speaks about fellow student Maren Sanchez, who was stabbed to death by another student in the Milford, Conn. school April 25, 2014. Buczer was visiting the Cone Zone ice cream shop with other Law students including Eric Kogan, center, and Mike Vaccaro, right, after classes were suspended for the day.

Photo: Ned Gerard

Ben Buczer, left, a senior from Jonathan Law High School, speaks...

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Christopher Plaskon from the Jonathan Law High School 2013 yearbook.

Photo: Contributed Photo, Contributed Photo

Christopher Plaskon from the Jonathan Law High School 2013 yearbook.

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Nancy Jolley and her daughter Madison, 10, pay their respects at a memorial set up for stabbing victim Maren Sanchez, in front of Jonathan Law High School in Milford, Conn. on Friday April 25, 2014. Jolley came out with her daughter Madison to say a prayer for the families involved.

Photo: Christian Abraham

Nancy Jolley and her daughter Madison, 10, pay their respects at a...

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Seniors from Jonathan Law High School poses for photos at the end of a pier while holding the prom dress of their friend Maren Sanchez after a memorial for her at Walnut Beach in Milford, Conn. on Friday April 25, 2014. Sanchez was stabbed to death at the school on Friday morning. Students showed up at Walnut Beach wearing their prom dresses and suits because Friday night was to be prom night.

Photo: Christian Abraham

Seniors from Jonathan Law High School poses for photos at the end...

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Elizabeth Voytershark, 19, pays her respects at an impomptu memorial for stabbing victim Maren Sanchez, in front of Jonathan Law High School in Milford, Conn. on Thursday April 25, 2014.

Photo: Christian Abraham

Elizabeth Voytershark, 19, pays her respects at an impomptu...

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Seniors from Jonathan Law High School arrive at Walnut Beach in their prom suits and dresses to hold a memorial for their friend Maren Sanchez in Milford, Conn. on Friday April 25, 2014. Sanchez was stabbed to death earlier on Friday, which was to be the day of the school's prom.

Photo: Christian Abraham

Seniors from Jonathan Law High School arrive at Walnut Beach in...

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Seniors from Jonathan Law High School release purple balloons while at Walnut Beach, during a memorial for their friend Maren Sanchez in Milford, Conn. on Friday April 25, 2014. Sanchez was stabbed to death earlier on Friday, which was to be the day of the school's prom. All the seniors came to the memorial wearing their prom suits and dresses.

Photo: Christian Abraham

Seniors from Jonathan Law High School release purple balloons while...

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Students from Jonathan Law High School walk together out to a pier along the beach after they held a memorial for their friend Maren Sanchez in Milford, Conn. on Friday April 25, 2014. Sanchez was stabbed to death earlier on Friday, which was to be the day of the school's prom. All the seniors came to the memorial wearing their prom suits and dresses.

Photo: Christian Abraham

Students from Jonathan Law High School walk together out to a pier...

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The media watch seniors from Jonathan Law High School, during a memorial for their friend Maren Sanchez in Milford, Conn. on Friday April 25, 2014. Sanchez was stabbed to death earlier on Friday, which was to be the day of the school's prom. All the students came to the memorial wearing their prom suits and dresses.

Photo: Christian Abraham

The media watch seniors from Jonathan Law High School, during a...

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Alyssa Scopp, 17, pays her respects at a memorial for stabbing victim Maren Sanchez, in front of Jonathan Law High School in Milford, Conn. on Thursday April 25, 2014.

Photo: Christian Abraham

Alyssa Scopp, 17, pays her respects at a memorial for stabbing...

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Colleen McMurray, 16, pays her respects at an impomptu memorial for stabbing victim Maren Sanchez, in front of Jonathan Law High School in Milford, Conn. on Thursday April 25, 2014.

Students from Jonathan Law High School pose for photos at the end of a pier while holding the prom dress of their friend Maren Sanchez after a memorial for her at Walnut Beach in Milford, Conn. on Friday April 25, 2014. Sanchez was stabbed to death at the school on Friday morning. Students showed up at Walnut Beach wearing their prom dresses and suits because Friday night was to be prom night.

Photo: Christian Abraham

Students from Jonathan Law High School pose for photos at the end...

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A student from Jonathan Law High School brings purple balloons onto Walnut Beach, during a memorial for their friend Maren Sanchez in Milford, Conn. on Friday April 25, 2014. Sanchez was stabbed to death earlier on Friday, which was to be the day of the school's prom. All the students came to the memorial wearing their prom suits and dresses.

Photo: Christian Abraham

A student from Jonathan Law High School brings purple balloons onto...

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A student from Jonathan Law High School holds up the prom dress of friend Maren Sanchez during a memorial for her held on Walnut Beach in Milford, Conn. on Friday April 25, 2014. Sanchez was stabbed to death at the school on Friday morning. Students showed up at Walnut Beach wearing their prom dresses and suits because Friday night was to be prom night.

Photo: Christian Abraham

A student from Jonathan Law High School holds up the prom dress of...

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Students from Jonathan Law High School attend a memorial for stabbing victim Maren Sanchez at Walnut Beach in Milford, Conn. on Friday April 25, 2014. Sanchez was stabbed to death at the school on Friday morning. Students showed up at Walnut Beach wearing their prom dresses and suits because Friday night was to be prom night.

Photo: Christian Abraham

Students from Jonathan Law High School attend a memorial for...

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Students from Jonathan Law High School walk together along the beach to a pier nearby after a memorial was held for their friend Maren Sanchez in Milford, Conn. on Friday April 25, 2014. Sanchez was stabbed to death earlier on Friday, which was to be the day of the school's prom. All the students came to the memorial wearing their prom suits and dresses.

Photo: Christian Abraham

Students from Jonathan Law High School walk together along the...

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Students from Jonathan Law High School walk together along the beach to a pier nearby after a memorial was held for their friend Maren Sanchez in Milford, Conn. on Friday April 25, 2014. Sanchez was stabbed to death earlier on Friday, which was to be the day of the school's prom. All the students came to the memorial wearing their prom suits and dresses.

Photo: Christian Abraham

Students from Jonathan Law High School walk together along the...

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A Law student, who said she is Sanchez's best friend, lays her wrist corsage from the prom at the memorial to the slain student.

MILFORD -- On the day of her junior prom, a Jonathan Law High School student was stabbed to death in a school hallway Friday morning during an apparent quarrel with a classmate who students said wanted to be her prom date.

Police said the 16-year-old male who assaulted Sanchez was taken into custody, and they said he was cooperative. Sources told Hearst Connecticut Media that the suspect's name is Chris Plaskon, and he will likely be charged as an adult.

The suspect was transported to Milford Hospital for psychological evaluation Friday and is expected to be arraigned Monday in Juvenile Court in New Haven.

The school was immediately placed on lockdown as worried parents rushed to the school. Classes were dismissed by 9 a.m. so police could investigate the attack.

By 9:30, school staffers said, Jonathan Law High was all but empty except for detectives examining the crime scene.

Students described an emotional scene, with people crying as police and paramedics swarmed the school.

Student Jill Davis, a friend of Sanchez, said Plaskon was an ex-boyfriend of the victim and that he had asked Sanchez to go to the junior prom with him that evening. When "she said no, he slashed her across the throat," Davis said.

On a Facebook page highlighting the school's prom dresses, Sanchez recently posted a photo of her dress, a teal-colored, full length gown with a slit on the side. "Yay ... so excited," she posted with a comment.

Video: Jonathan Law High School stabbing in Milford

Police would not speculate on the prom date report, but said that they are investigating that angle.

"We'll get the bottom of it on how it happened and why," said Police Chief Keith Mello said. "The victim suffered multiple lacerations to her neck, chest and facial areas during the incident."

Detectives said they recovered a knife at the crime scene and executed a search warrant at the suspect's home.

Mello said it's unclear whether any students witnessed the assault, but it's possible that one or more of them saw all or part of the attack.

Police sources said a teacher held the dying girl in her lap until help arrived.

Sarah Golden, a 14-year-old freshman, said she was sitting in the main lobby with friends Friday morning when she was startled by several security guards running down the hall. Then she heard a voice on a walkie-talkie say someone had been strangled.

She was shocked when she learned about the stabbing.

"I was trying not to freak out because it was really scary," Golden said. "I just don't believe that something like that happened at my school. It's something that seems so unreal."

Golden's sister, Rebecca, a 17-year-old senior at the school, said she saw the victim lying on the floor surrounded by teachers, some of whom were crying. She said she didn't know what was going on at the time, and teachers directed her away from the victim.

Ben Buczek, a senior at Jonathan Law, described Sanchez as a student who "everyone liked," and who was a talented musician on the guitar as well as an accomplished student.

"There was nothing bad about her," he said.

Buczek added that Plaskon never displayed any violent tendencies and he didn't seem like the sort of kid capable of harming anyone.

"I had a class with him, and he seemed like a nice kid," he said. "Weird, but in a funny sort of way. Nothing out of the ordinary and you wouldn't think he could do this."

Students said Sanchez and Plaskon had been friends since they were in middle school.

Some students held a vigil Friday afternoon at Walnut Beach, where they brought Sanchez's teal green prom dress as a way to remember her. Many of the girls wore their prom dresses, and the boys wore their tuxedos.

Students also gathered around a large boulder at the entrance to the school parking lot. The rock was painted purple with "Maren" in white letters.

Elizabeth Feser, Milford superintendent of schools, said Sanchez was a "vibrant" student who excelled academically, was manager of the swim team and was "loved and respected" by her peers.

"We are obviously devastated by the loss of our students," she said. "She was very, very involved in Jonathan Law High, and she was an incredible contributor to the school."

Mello echoed Feser's despair over Sanchez's death.

"Any time there's a death, it's tragic, especially when it's a young person," he said.

"My thoughts and prayers are with her family and friends as they deal with this terrible heartbreak," she said in a message to the media.

Mayor Benjamin Blake, who was away on vacation, also said he was shocked by the news.

"Our hearts go out to the family of Maren Sanchez, the 16-year-old junior at Jonathan Law High School who passed away this morning, and to those also affected by this tragedy," the mayor said in a message to the media.

Blake announced counseling services will be available throughout the weekend and he urged members of the school community and others to take advantage of them.

State Sen. Gayle Slossberg, D-Milford, was at the scene to offer her condolences.

"This is a terrible day here in Milford," she said. "We are all heartbroken. I spoke with the governor, and I can tell you that he stands ready with any and all resources that the state can offer to help us heal and to deal with this tragedy."

The school's junior prom had been scheduled for Friday night at Vazzano's Four Seasons banquet hall in Stratford.

Feser said, because of the tragedy, the junior prom and post-prom activities were postponed indefinitely. Feser said the prom would indeed take place at a future date.

Before the 11:30 a.m. news conference by police and school officials, many students were holding hands and crying.

The news conference took place in the K-Mart parking lot, about a block away from the school. By 3 p.m., the side streets adjacent to the school were crowded with news vans as television reporters prepared for live feeds for their evening news shows, using the high school as a backdrop.

Police and school officials stressed it was an isolated incident between two students and that the school was -- and is -- a safe place for children.

Mello said Plaskon has been charged with murder as a juvenile offender.

"The Milford Superior Court will follow up with a determination if the case will be handled as a juvenile or adult proceeding," Mello said.

Jonathan Law Principal Fran Thompson sent an email to students Friday morning expressing her shock and sadness.

It read: "It is with a heavy heart that I inform you that a beloved member of our student body, Maren Sanchez, has passed away. Maren was everything right with Jonathan Law. An honor student, active member of our school community and incredible young woman, her time with us was much too short but her spirit will be with us forever."

"We will have counselors and staff on hand throughout the entire weekend," Thompson said. "Anyone -- students, staff, alumni and community members are welcome to join us for support. The new gym will be open and I ask everyone who joins us to enter through the back lot into the new gym entrance."

Media: Connecticut Post
Students from Jonathan Law High School held a memorial for their friend Maren Sanchez in Milford, Conn. on Friday April 25, 2014. Sanchez was stabbed to death earlier on Friday, which was to be the day of the school's prom.